Month: March 2011

Iltalehti: Intialaistaustaista ehdokasta syrjittiin vaalikentällä Persukahakka!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is a worrying story that is the tip of the iceberg.  For many foreigners it is a common story.

What did Iltalehti report? A True Finn allegedly tried to pick a fight with a naturalized Finn for offering him work. One matter is a group of True Finns supporters acting in a hostile fashion but a more serious matter is their contentious message towards the immigrant population.

The major parties in Finland made a big mistake by not giving the True Finns the cold shoulder like what happened with the Sweden Democrats. OK, the True Finns are not all following Jussi Halla-aho, but the party’s leadership opportunistically approves Islamophobic behavior by not condemning it.

The attacks and rancor towards immigrants and minorities in Finland will continue to pick up as long as parties like the True Finns continue to peddle their populism, which is deeply rooted in ignorance and bigotry.

Do you agree?

___________

Olli Waris

SDP:n ehdokkaan Ranbir Sodhin vaalitilaisuus Vantaan Myyrmäessä sai ikävän päätöksen viime lauantaina, kun perussuomalaisehdokkaan taustajoukot heittivät ilmoille syrjiviä kommentteja.

To keep on reading click here.

Migrant Tales memorable quotes of the week to March 28

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales publishes on Monday some interesting quotes on the ongoing immigration debate in Finland and elsewhere. If you have some quotes you would like to share with us, please forward them to [email protected]. ET

–If you’re a banker who bought your estate with the millions you made from mortgage fraud, relax. The Justice Department isn’t looking for you. But if you’re an illegal immigrant who’s working on that banker’s estate, look out.?The Department of Justice is ignoring your boss and devoting most of its resources to catching you.”  Former Wall Street executive Richard Eskow quoted on Campaign for America’s Future.

–The problem of immigration is truly a top concern in this new Finnish parliament, but the matter should be treated with justice, with regard to international laws on human right, accusation of a particular group is not good as it may worsen the situation. The immigrants should be treated with equality and with this improve their integration in society. A comment by Walter on MigrantTales (29.3.2011).

–So you are bullied at school. So what? In 20 years you will be earning 20 times more than those bullies in a vocation that offers 20 times more job satisfaction. Businesses will be bidding against each other for your services while remaining fearful that you will set up your own operation and compete against them.  Comment byJustice Demon on Migrant Tales (28.3.2011).

-Part of the populist approach involves cultivating urban myths for political gain. This is why we hear over and over again that immigrants are work shy benefit shoppers who get more benefits than the host population. Anyone who understands how the welfare system works can see that this cannot be true, but the myth is too valuable to abandon. Comment by JusticeDemon on Migrant Tales (28.3.2011).

–  (French President) Nicolas Sarkozy has failed to keep his promises on diversity – as the far right rises, we must defend the rights of ethnic minorities. According to independent research associations, visible minorities represent more than 15% of the population of France. Yet only 0.2% of deputies and about 1% of senators elected in metropolitan France are from a minority background. There is no French black person at the head of any large government ministry, and no French black person occupying the position of an ambassador, director of a CAC 40 corporation or senior staff officer in the armed forces.  Patrick Lozès quoted on guardian.co.uk.

The magic word or clarion call that should unite all immigrants and minorities throughout Europe is inclusion.  Enrique Tessieri @MigrantTales

Old quote: Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery.  Jack Paar

Source: ldh-toulon.net

Ydin-lehti: Suomi pystyy onnistumaan maahanmuuttopolitiikassa

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Enrique Tessieri

Nuorena minulla oli etuoikeus ja mahdollisuus vierailla joka kesä Etelä-Savossa isovanhempieni luona Etelä-Kaliforniasta käsin. 1960-luvun Suomessa maahanmuuttajia oli niin  vähän, että olin monelle kiinnostava kummajainen.

Suomi oli 1960- ja 1970-luvuilla hyvin erilainen maa kuin se on nykypäivänä. Suomea, Yhdysvaltoja ja synnyinmaatani Argentiinaa yhdisti yksi asia: maahanmuutto. 

Yhdysvallat, ja pienemmässä mittakaavassa Argentiina, olivat avautuneet maahanmuuttajille jo 1800-luvulla. Vaikka maahanmuuttajien määrä onkin kasvanut Suomessakin erityisesti 1990-luvulta lähtien, oli Suomi ennen perinteisesti maa, josta ihmiset muuttivat muualle.

Argentiinaan tuli myös paljon siirtolaisia: 1881-1914 aikana 4,2 miljoona ihmistä muutti sinne. Kyseisessä joukossa ihmiset olivat pääasiallisesti Italiasta ja Espanjasta. Kourallinen suomalaisia perusti 1906 Colonia Finlandesa-siirtokunnan subtrooppiseen Koillis-Argentiinaan.

Suomalaiset luvut ovat hurjaa katsottavaa: pelkästään Pohjois-Amerikkaan ja Ruotsiin muutti 1860-1999 arvioilta 905 000 suomalaista. Sodan jälkeen Suomesta lähti 535 000 ihmistä Ruotsiin asumaan. Jotkut väestötieteilijät uskovat, että ilman muuttoaaltoja Suomen väkiluku olisi tänään seitsemän miljoonaa.

Toivottu ja ei-toivottu siirtolaisuus

Siirtolaiset ovat olleet tärkeitä muun muassa talouskasvun luomisessa ja maan nousussa, mutta asia ei kuitenkaan ole yksiselitteinen. Rasismi ja syrjintä ovat olleet osa monen maan siirtolaisuuspolitiikkaa. Esimerkiksi kiinalaiset ja japanilaiset olivat ei-toivottuja siirtolaisia Yhdysvalloissa. Heidän muuttoliikkeensä Yhdysvaltoihin alkoi vasta vuoden 1965 jälkeen.

Sama koski myös mustaa väestöä. He saivat vasta 1960-luvulla valkoisten kanssa yhtyeenvertaiset kansalaisoikeudet lain edessä. Osa alkuperäiskansasta asuu yhä reservaateissa ja noin 7 miljoona meksikolaista asuu laittomasti maassa ilman oikeuksia.

Noin vuosi sen jälkeen, kun mustien amerikkalaisten kansalaisoikeusliikkeen taistelija Martin Luther King piti 1963 Washingtonissa tunnetuimman puheensa, ”Minulla on unelma,” kouluuni Kaliforniassa tuli ensimmäinen musta oppilas. Suurin osa koulun opiskelijoista oli valkoisia tai eurooppalaistaustaisia.

Lopputulos oli kuitenkin karu: uutta mustaa opiskelijaa kiusattiin jatkuvasti. Hän ei kestänyt olla koulussamme kuin kaksi viikkoa.

Argentiinan siirtolaisuuspolitiikka 1850-luvulta leimaa yksi mies: Juan Bautista Alberdi. Hän uskoi, että Argentiina ei voisi koskaan kehittyä, jos sillä on vain miljoona asukasta alueellaan. Hänestä Argentiinaan saattoi helposti asuttaa 50 miljoonia ihmistä. Alkuperäiskansoilla ei ollut paikkaa Alberdin uudessa Argentiinassa. Heitä vainottiin ja metsästettiin1920-luvulla.

Alberdilla oli naiiveja näkemyksiä siirtolaisuudesta. Hän halusi koulutettuja valkoisia eurooppalaisia Pohjois-Euroopasta kuten Iso-Britanniasta, espanjalaisten ja italialaisten sijaan. Tapahtui päinvastoin: Suurin osa Argentiinaan tulleista siirtolaisista olivat kouluttamattomia italialaisia ja espanjalaisia.

Kun katsotaan Yhdysvaltojen ja Argentiinan kokemuksia siirtolaisista herää tärkeä kysymys: pitääkö valtaväestön hyväksynnän olla niin pitkän tien päässä? Tarvitseeko maan odottaa yli 230 vuotta ennen kuin sille valitaan ensimmäinen musta presidentti, kuten Yhdysvalloissa tapahtui?

Suomella on myös suuria haasteita edessään, kun maahan saapuu yhä enemmän maahanmuuttajia. Mielestäni kotouttaminen on avainasemassa: kuinka tehokkaasti pystymme kotoutumaan heidät ja ottamaan heidät yhteiskunnan täysvaltaisiksi jäseniksi, riippumatta heidän kulttuurisista, uskonnollisista tai etnisistä taustoistaan. Onnistuminen edellyttää molemminpuolista hyväksyntää ja tasavertaisia mahdollisuuksia.

Tämä ei tule olemaan helppoa, muttei se mahdotontakaan ole. Kansallisidentiteettimme ehdot ovat yhä tiukkoja. Viime vuosisadoilla oli pyrkimyksiä hävittää kaikki vierasperäinen jopa sukunimiämme myöten muuttuaksemme enemmän suomalaisiksi.

Uskon että tällä vuosisadalla tulemme hyväksymään monimuotoisemman kansalaisidentiteettiin. Me tulemme eri taustoista, mutta olemme silti kaikki suomalaisia.

YLE: Maahanmuuttajaehdokkaita yhä vain kourallinen

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is an interesting story by YLE about candidates in the April 17 election with immigrant backgrounds. What is a bit disturbing about the story is that there are different definitions on what constitutes an immigrant. One of the candidates, for example, has an Ethiopian father but was born in Espoo.

Why do they make a big thing about these candidates background? Aren’t they Finns since they are citizenship?

Even if by a miracle all of the 48 candidates with immigrant backgrounds got elected, it would not even constitute a majority in the 200-seat Eduskunta.

The party with the most “immigrant” candidates were the Greens and the True Finns with the least.

___________

Maahanmuutto on yksi eduskuntavaalien kuumimmista puheenaiheista. Maahanmuuttajaehdokkaita on kuitenkin vaaleissa vain 45. Määrä riippuu myös laskutavasta. Maahanmuuttajaksi on laskettu myös ehdokkaita, joiden isä tai äiti on ulkomaalainen.

The read on click here.


Seeing the ogre of racism in Finland at an early age

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

What kind of society denies others their identity? What kind of society approves their children of ostracizing those that come from different backgrounds? The answer is simple: a culture that suffers from low self-esteem.

One of the biggest cultural crimes that had been committed in Finland in the previous century was Finnicization. It is another version of what countries like Brazil did to “whiten” their population by inviting European immigration to its shores.

I am grateful that I did not grow up in Finland during the 1960s and 1970s because it would have meant, apart from ridicule and exclusion, denying a part of my identity.

There are tens of thousands of people in Finland that grew up in the 1990s that went to school in this country and come from multicultural backgrounds. I doubt that you will find many rosy stories in that group about how well they were treated at school. Many, especially the visible minorities, will tell you tales about how they were excluded and bullied at school with the blessing of silence and inaction of their teachers.

Evey time politicians like Wille Rydman of Kokoomus or Timo Soini and his followers as well as others speak about the need for immigrants to integrate into society, I wonder what they mean. Students of multicultural backgrounds and visible minorities hear this rude message loud and clear every time they step out of their homes.

In many cases the attitudes, treatment and relationship that some Finns have with people of multicultural backgrounds has its roots in exclusion and racism.

When I was a kid briefly living in Finland, I had to fight with my bare fists to be accepted by my friends. In the end they did but there were always new kids, total strangers, who would make a big deal about my otherness.

I have only one advice for those who suffered this type of discrimination in Finland when they were young: It is never too late to raise your self-esteem of your other self. Returning to where you were once from will fill you with power that you never knew existed inside of you. The first crucial step in this process is accepting who you are.

If people have a problem with that it is their problem – not yours.

(Many thanks to Larion for bringing this issue to my attention)

guardian.co.uk: France’s minorities under fire

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: “(French President) Nicolas Sarkozy has failed to keep his promises on diversity – as the far right rises, we must defend the rights of ethnic minorities;” writes Patrick Lozès.

He continues:  “According to independent research associations, visible minorities represent more than 15% of the population of France. Yet only 0.2% of deputies and about 1% of senators elected in metropolitan France are from a minority background. There is no French black person at the head of any large government ministry, and no French black person occupying the position of an ambassador, director of a CAC 40 corporation or senior staff officer in the armed forces.”

With the rise of the far-right National Front, it’s pretty clear that matters are not going to improve in France anytime soon.

What must minorities do in Europe as xenophobic parties raise their heads? In many cases, some minorities are the most defenceless in society because they don’t have political power.  Instead of defending their rights, some politicians use them as punching and bashing bags to gain votes.

The magic word or clarion call that should unite all immigrants and minorities throughout Europe is inclusion.

Do you agree?

____________

By Patrick Lozès

The recent local elections in France witnessed not only increased pressure from the extreme right National Front (FN), but also division within the conservative party in power, the UMP, which fluctuated uncertainly between an alliance with the FN and one with the opposition parties. As for the left, it can hardly be seen as a credible alternative. The situation for minorities in France has therefore become more than difficult. It has become critical.

To keep on reading click here.

Magma Media: Populismin nousu Euroopassa

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Apart from recovering from a  financial meltdown in September 2008 and the adverse effects of globalization, another explanation for the rise of far-right parties in Europe has been the political terrain left by traditional left-wing parties that no longer appeal to voters as in the past.

Far-right parties have emerged in almost every country in Europe: BNP in England, France’s National Front (FN), Swiss People’s Party, Lega Nord of Italy, Sweden Democrats, Danish People’s Party, Ataka of Bulgaria, Hungary’s Jobbik , Dutch Party for Freedom (PW), FrP of Norway and others.

The report, published by Magma Media below, does not consider the True Finns a far-right party per say but one with populist roots.

While the True Finns’ leader, Timo Soini, has renounced racism and is publicly against inciting violence against other ethnic groups, some of the candidates of the party would think twice about signing such a pledge. The anti-immigrant wing, led by Jussi Halla-aho, does not mind peddling the Islamophobic rhetoric of  far-right parties in Europe.

See a recent story published by Migrant Tales on the ties some True Finns candidates have with Suomen Sisu, a far-right group.

The authors don’t see a very smooth future for Soini despite his good success in the polls. Since the True Finns are a hodgepodge of ideologies and political passions, it is this heterogeneity that poses its greatest threat.

What do you think?

__________

Ääriliikkeet ja poliittinen populismi ovat lisänneet kannatustaan eri maissa. Kyse on rajat ylittävästä ilmiöstä. Populismin alla on selvästi toisistaan poikkeavia liikkeitä ja puolueita. Ideologioissa, tavoitteissa, toimintatavoissa ja ääriliikkeiden esittämissä uhkakuvissa on eroja, mutta myös yhtäläisyyksiä.

To keep on reading click here.

To read the report (in Finnish)  click here.

YLE: Rasismi näkyy verta useammin kyyneleinä

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is an interesting story based on an interview with researcher Vesa Puronen, who puts a lot of things into perspective concerning the ongoing debate on immigrants and immigration.

One of the most common matters that anti-immigrant groups like the True Finns do is to group all immigrants into one bag.  In order to demonize them, they see everyone in the group as a threat and/or a criminal.  Racism isn’t a social issue that has raised its head with the ever-growing, albeit small, immigrant population in Finland.  The Saami, Roma and other minorities have been its victim Finland.

One of the favorite arguments of anti-immigrant and far-right groups is to demonize an ethnicity or religion. The aim is the same in every country: Since these people are a “threat” to us they can never live and be part of our society. Our racism and hatred is justified.

Puronen said that one matter that strengthens racism is silence. I totally agree. It explains why the True Finns and other anti-immigration parties and politicians have grown in popularity: silence has been their best ally.

Parties and some of their national representatives that should know better have preferred to be quiet to racism. They are now paying a big price for their silence.

If we want to build a successful society in the future, one matter is for certain: racism has not place in it.

Do you agree?

______________

Kati LahtinenRasismi ei ole maahanmuuton seuraus. Se on syvemmin suomalaiseen yhteiskuntaan juurtunut ilmiö, jonka maahanmuutto on ehkä nostanut esiin. Rasismi ei myöskään katoa jos maahanmuuttajia ei ole. Suomalaista rasismia ovat kohdanneet myös Suomen kansalaiset, saamelaiset.

To keep on reading click here.

You can also hear the interview (in Finnish).

Finland flirts with lost opportunities

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

It is sad to think that a populist party like the True Finns may be set to win a lot of seats in the April 17 election. While everyone has a right to his opinion in Finland, pushing myths and flimsy arguments that incite nationalist sentiment at the cost of immigrants and minorities is simply unacceptable.

If the True Finns get under 20 seats in the next election it will be an upset for Timo Soini’s party. Anything above that could be seen as a victory.

It is unfortunate but Finland has been gripped by poll hysteria. Even before the first vote has been cast, some are already predicting a “huge” victory for the True Finns.

I personally believe that the True Finns are a bubble that will end up exploding after the anti-immigration wing led by Jussi Halla-aho and former SMP members like Soini clash.

Finland has not done well with far-right parties in the past. When we aligned ourselves as a co-belligerent (the official term) with Nazi Germany we ended up paying a huge price. Finland’s forte has been smart diplomacy and keeping a cool head in global and domestic affairs.

Ratcheting up the rhetoric of minorities and the outside world for short-term domestic consumption is a perilous mistake especially for a country like Finland to make.

One sign that the True Finns are not ready to lead this country is their manifest arrogance. Every time the polls have shown their popularity rise so has their contemptuousness. Some of them think they now have a carte blanche to push their views based on prejudice and ostracize those they consider different.

Some of the major parties like Kokoomus, Social Democrats and the Center Party have awoken to the True Finns menace. They are paying a big political price for not reacting earlier to this threat. But as the saying goes, better late than never.

The jury is still out on how the True Finns will do. A big election victory for the party would mean a big setback for Finland’s image abroad and to our values as a society. We will exchange our image of a country that has championed for social justice for one that has succumbed, like Denmark, to overt racism, far-right nationalism, populism and religious fundamentalism.

Jumping on the far-right bandwagon will only hurt Finland because that path will be lined with lost opportunities.

YLE: Maahanmuutto jakaa edustajaehdokkaita

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is an interesting story published by YLE on how immigration is a hot issue in the election. One of the questions (number 5) on the YLE questionnaire to the candidates asks if  “immigration and tax support (to this group) should be tightened?” Those candidates and parties that “totally agreed” with the statement were the True Finns and other anti-immigration parties like Muutos2011 and Vapauspuolue.

The majority of the candidates of Kokoomus and the Center Party were “somewhat in favor” of tightening immigration policy and tax support. The majority (49%) of the Social Democrat candidates, however, were “somewhat of a different opinion.” Fifty-seven percent of the candidates of the Swedish People’s Party were “totally against” tightening immigration policy and tax support.

The majority of the Greens (57%) were “somewhat in favor” of tightening policy and tax support.

One of the big questions we have to ask of those that are asking for stricter controls is what they want to tighten if the present law is already pretty strict?

One candidate from my constituency said that it was ok to lower tax support to immigrants because Finland pays some of the highest support in Europe. The candidate forgot to tell us, however, that if we take cost of living into account such benefits are in line with the European Union average.

The stance and the willingness of some candidates to use the immigrant-bashing card to get votes is a sad reality of Finland today.

Do you agree?

___________

Maahanmuuttajien vastaanottaminen ja tukeminen verovaroin jakaa kansanedustajaehdokkaita. YLEn vaalikoneen perusteella perussuomalaisten vanavedessä tiukennuksia kaipaavat erityisesti oikeistopuolueet, kuten kokoomus. Liberaalimpaa mielipidettä ylläpitävät RKP, vasemmisto ja vihreät. SDP seilaa muiden välissä.

To keep on reading click here.